Archangel60

I've been looking (albeit casually) at a set of Vossen HF-5 wheels for my 2023 E450 Coupe. I got the 19" AMG 5-spoke wheels with the car, and I'm just on the fence about them. When I mentioned this to my sales guy...whom I consider to be fairly honest...he cautioned me against buying aftermarket wheels, saying that AMG wheels were "really strong and built better than anything you could buy on the aftermarket." He went on to talk about several aftermarket wheel failures he's seen (he was a tech before he was a salesman).

Can anyone give me any insight at to whether or not AMG factory wheels are that much better or stronger than aftermarket, and if so why? If they are better, so be it. What makes them that way? Beyond, of course, "Wellllll it's AMG and they have a little metal plate with a signature on them...."

Thanks!

superswiss

This can't be put quite that generally, but when it comes to wheels, you get what you pay for. There are three ways of making alloy wheels. Cast, Flow Formed and Forged in order of weakest to strongest and cheapest to most expensive. Forged wheels are the strongest technically, however they are not necessarily stronger than a cast wheel. Instead because forged alloy is stronger, the wheels can be made lighter and still maintain the strength of a heavier cast wheel. The Vossen HF-5 are flow formed, so they are not forged, so in order to be as strong as a comparable forged wheel, they have to be heavier. So it comes down to weight vs strength. If you want a light and strong wheel, forged will give you that. If you don't care about the weight and want cheap, then cast will give you that and flow formed is somewhere in the middle.

Your guy was generally correct. Most aftermarket wheels are cheap crap. If you want a good aftermarket wheel, it's gonna cost you. Just look at how the Vossen prices quickly go up if you go forged, and don't fall for their hybrid forged marketing. That's just their way of making flow formed sound more special. AMG wheels are expensive, but they are good. I don't know if the one you have is forged or cast.

Having said all that, ultimately it also comes down to how much sidewall you have. There are people who complain about AMG wheels being weak after they drove a 20" wheel through a pothole with low profile tires and cracked the wheel. It's all relative. At the end of the day, you don't wanna drive through potholes with low profile tires regardless if the wheel is cast, flow formed or forged.

Archangel60

Thanks Superswiss, your insight is much appreciated. Being an engineer by trade, I know about the advantages of forged wheels, but as you pointed out, do I REALLY want to spend THAT MUCH??? Ehhh...probably not. FYI, I'm pretty certain that, while factory, my AMG wheels are not forged. They're OK looking...I don't love them, don't hate them, but to have to spend $3K per wheel plus isn't worth it to me. There are other critical items...like...golf clubs for instance

superswiss

Yes, yours are likely cast. Forged wheels are mostly found on the 63 models and up like my C63S. The ones I have are optional and extra lightweight. Had to take off one of the rear wheels a little while ago and was shocked in a good way about how light it was compared to similarly sized cast wheels in the past, but yeah a full set if I had to replace them runs around $8000 and they were a $2100 option over the standard wheels.

atl 2 chi

Love my Vossen forged wheels though they did cost quite a bit, however, Vossen did give me a partial sponsorship. That took a few dollars off...lol. My factory OEM wheels are forged also. I use them as my winter set.

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R3504Matic

there are many many reasons for engineers and designers to pick certain wheels they allow on their cars.
the UNSPRUNG weight is a huge factor in engineering.
aftermarket wheels can have too much unsprung weight and will end up messing with your suspension components over time or actually work against the design and computer aid software set up for traction and suspension balance.

I used to work for Porsche sales a while back and we were explained many reason why it was never a good options for clients to use aftermarket.
Wheels are just as important and the entire engine itself bc everything is formulated to make the car faster, nimble, stronger and balance.
You bring in one component that is aftermarket and not suited for that particular car, you end up bringing yourself some headache in cost of repairs or other components deteriorating.

Nothing but Factory is really my choice. As much as I admire non factory, I wouldnt do it because

C2 Turbo

Original equipment components especially wheels are designed keeping various scenarios like climate, road conditions, vehicle use etc in mind and not really the performance.
If you bought a nice set of aftermarket wheels from a reputable company, it would not only be strong but lighter and aesthetically pleasing too . It would also help reduce the unsprung weight which would not only help the suspension components but help with performance too.
The key is not to buy cheaper after market wheels.